Songs to Lift to

Now for all of you who want more of an insight into my life, you will be pleased to know that this post will clear up another of my hobbies and regular activities, Weightlifting. I love to lift weights and I love to lift heavy and have done since the age of 16. I have aspirations to compete in Strongman contests and I am an avid believer that music makes a difference to training, particularly in the anticipation and build up to a heavy lift. Therefore, I thought I would share with you my current top 3 songs that get me psyched to lift that one rep max or push me to give that extra burst of power. Here they are in no particular order and I hope you enjoy them:

3) Pantera "Becoming "


This is very classic of Pantera and is a staple of any live set that they perform. It is violent and fast and rigid and the vocals alone are powerful enough to get you a new one rep max. The guitars and drums are loud and fast and my heart never fails to replicate the beat and thus smash the challenge in front of me.

2) Slipknot "The Blister exists "

This song was introduced to me by my best mate and training partner one drive to the gym. It gives new meaning to the phrase loud and fast. The song doesn't stop for a second throughout and maintains that dedication and force you need in the middle of a heavy session.

3) Soundgarden "Slaves and Bulldozers "

I bet you were wondering when Chris Cornell would appear in this post. This track is a 7 minute assault on record companies. It is just over seven minutes of anger and rage and is perfect for mustering one more surge of raw power under a heavy bar. Cornell's voice just screams and if that banshee-like tone doesn't make you want to be a lone wolf and slaughter the weights then what will?

And that is it! I hope you all enjoy my countdown. As I said, these are in no particular order and i place them all on a level field in terms of quality. I encourage you to listen to them all if you have not yet heard them and you will not regret giving them a try. Cheers. Be Lucky

*All images and videos and audio sourced from google and YouTube. I do not claim to own any rights

Top 3 acoustic renditions of non-acoustic songs

Good afternoon everyone, it seems to have been a very poor show this year so far in terms of upload frequency. I have been very busy trying to save some money and I intend to remedy the lack of blog entries in the next few months. So, as I always say and without further ado, here are my personal picks for the top 3 acoustic renditions of non-acoustic songs:

3) My Hero By the Foo Fighters (as covered by Dave Grohl solo)



In this popular and touching song by the Foos, Dave Grohl changed up the style of the song to suit an acoustic rendition for BBC radio whilst maintaining all the emotion and power of the original. It is number three because it doesn't differ that obviously to the standard version but it was an acoustic rendition well transposed by the nicest guy in rock.


2) Unintended Muse (As covered by Matt Bellamy solo Live from Wembley in 2010)




My pick for number 2 comes from another band that are very close to my heart, Muse. They were one of the first non-pop bands that ever liked alongside Soundgarden and The Foo Fighters. They are widely credited as one of the best live bands there is and I seriously intend to test that theory before they stop touring. Unintended is one of their slowest and most vulnerable tracks amongst a very diverse and varied repertoire and this acoustic version by the writer of the song and frontman of the band is haunting and beautiful. The brief interaction with the crowd at the start of the video makes the cover even sweeter since Matt wrote the song very early on and his introduction of the song in this instance demonstrates a lot of gratitude to his fans and everyone in the audience. Similar to Dave Grohl, Bellamy and all of Muse are very grateful and humble and this rendition seems to be directed at the fans in gratitude. Thus, please listen and it places as runner up in my countdown.

1) Say Hello To Heaven By Temple of the Dog (As covered by Chris Cornell in Nov 26 2011 Solo)




Any version of Say Hello to Heaven is bound to be touching purely due to the fact that it is a message of a final goodbye to a friend. The song would never have been as moving as it is had it not been for Cornell's one of a kind delivery and emotionally gruff vocal delivery and all of these senses were stripped when he stripped the music down to the bare necessities and sat alone with his voice and an acoustic guitar to remember his long-gone friend. Cornell had covered his own song acoustically before but this version is so powerful and emotive and the soaring vocals are even more impressive given that Cornell was 47 years old at this point. This song is tragic as Cornell himself would die just 6 years later and this song will remain relevant to the loss of the great man as well as Andrew Wood; The song's original subject.

I hope you enjoyed this countdown and I encourage you all to listen to all of the above versions on days when you want to meditate or wallow a little or simply fancy hearing a different take on a song by the very same artist that made it famous. You may also want to check out a bonus tracks that I will include below. Be lucky everyone.



*I do not claim to own any rights to images or videos. All images and videos sourced from google and YouTube

All time Low March 17th 2018

As a present for Christmas and Valentines day, my girlfriend bought me a ticket to see her favourite band at Alexandra Palace on the 17th March. This was a significant moment for me as I had never seen live music up until this point and, being so lovely, she thought I would appreciate the opportunity (Which I did). We were accompanied by her best friend and her boyfriend, myself and him being the only half of us who didn't know much All Time Low and had never seen them. Other than spending an hour and a half in the snow without a jacket whilst queuing, I found the experience very interesting and I enjoyed a lot of the music despite not really knowing many of their set list. I am very grateful to my beautiful girlfriend for allowing me the opportunity to go somewhere I wouldn't have been had she not surprised me and I believe that the other male in question also rather enjoyed his first experience of All Time Low.

The main difference between live gigs and studio music is of course the interaction with the crowd and I must credit the band for their great relationship with the crowd. They seemed genuinely grateful to their die-hard fans as well as everyone else who had paid to see them and they took a selfie with the crowd after the encore. They seem to be very genuine and friendly musicians and thus I enjoyed the gig very much, even if my usual taste is heavier than their style. If you are open minded and enjoy pop punk then I would very much recommend seeing All Time Low; If only to appreciate their humility and good grace.

I would like to publicly thank my wonderful girlfriend for giving me the opportunity and buying the ticket for me and also for keeping it such a secret (she isn't great with the secrecy stuff). I would also like to thank her best friend and her boyfriend for accompanying us and making my experience of the whole day even more pleasant.

Furthermore, I'd like to apologise for being so absent recently, I've been working and I never want to publish work without just cause for the sake of statistics but I intend to come back with a vengeance! Never fear , there will be more content.


* All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any rights

To all my readers

What do you want to see me discuss?

Good afternoon to you all. Thank you as always for taking the time to read my blog and I cannot thank you enough for your loyalty. This is going to be one of my shortest blog entries but I want to include you in my work and get a flavour of what you would like me to review or discuss. If you want my opinion or explanation for anything then please leave a comment at the bottom of this post or anywhere else on my blog and I shall endeavor to answer them to the best of my ability.

Depending on how many responses I get I will upload as many posts as necessary in reply to your requests next week. Expect the first one mid-week and I may even upload a couple in one day if need be.

Cheers once again for your time and ,as always, stay lucky everyone!


*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any rights

My Dream Guitar

Gretsch Falcon guitars

Like any musician, one version of you weapon of choice, in my case guitar, is never enough. Despite being just 21 and being skint all the time, i have the privilege of saying that I own 3 beautiful guitars which I endeavor to give equal attention. These consist of a timeless budget Fender Strat which I have reviewed on this very blog, a bright and well crafted Tanglewood which I have also reviewed on here, and a budget Epiphone LP that was given to me on my 21st birthday. I adore all of my guitars as my lovely girlfriend and my family would testify and they all sound unique from each other and I believe that I have a playing style which is unique to me. I will own, treasure and play them all forever.

Nonetheless, ever since I first laid eyes on the Gretsch White Falcon in none other than Denmark street, and later saw it in the video for Californication by The Red Hot Chili Peppers being played by the brilliant Frusciante , I have always wanted one of my own in glossy black. With them being such an expensive guitar, they are not offered to test out with the same blaze attitude as most models and thus I have never played one but I have held one and the weight and balance is perfect. The model I held was called the Black Falcon (not the most original name but pretty damn accurate). If you have never heard of this guitar I have put a clip from YouTube on the bottom of this post so please do watch it and if you have the chance then give a Gretsch a try in person. They are deep and rich in tone and the body is wide and hollow enough that you can produce a great sound even from unplugged and when they are paired with a valve amp the combination is a symphony of beauty.


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Thank you for your time and I hope you are all well and are looking forward to my favourite time of the year and the time of peace on earth and good will to all men. Be lucky!


*All images sourced from google .I do not claim to own any rights 

3 Christmas Songs By Rock artists

As the festive season and my favourite time of year approaches and edges nearer and nearer, I am refraining from listening to Christmas music until December or at least until after my gorgeous girlfriend's 21st which is also coming up. However, some people complain about Christmas music, saying that it is cheesy and all sounds the same. Personally I enjoy all of that about Christmas music, despite being a fan or metal and grunge, but in order for everyone to get the most out of the season and prepare for the most wonderful time of the year I thought that I would list 3 Christmas songs in no particular order that are by or covered by rock musicians. And without any further digression, here they are:

1) "Christmas Time (Don't let the bells end)" The Darkness

I know The Darkness are a postmodern band and are not everybody's cup of tea and that is fine. However, their contribution to Christmas is too good to miss. It is cheesy and catchy and comes with an equally corny music video but if you can be cheesy at Christmas then whats the point of all the decor and festivities?

2) "Please come home for Christmas" Jon Bon Jovi

This is a festive song by none other than the one and only Jon Bon Jovi, the king of hair and 80's soft rock bands in my opinion. It is also a song that is easy to relate to if you have ever had to spend Christmas or part of the festive season away from loved ones. It contains Bon Jovi's classically pharyngeal voice along with a traditional Bon Jovi ballad tempo. It is a banger of a song and one that you should definitely give a try as we approach the season of peace on earth and good will to all men.

3) "Blue Christmas" Elvis Presley

If the King sings about Christmas and you don't feel the urge to join in then there may be something wrong with your ears. This is a song about missing loved ones at Christmas and another relevant message at the time of love and understanding. If you have the time, check out the mash up of Elvis Presley and Martina Mcbride on YouTube and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

So there we have it! Hopefully I have given you some information that you can use to immerse yourself in the festive season that is approaching so quickly and I hope that you are able to get as excited as me about Christmas. Hope you are well and as always, stay lucky and thank you for reading.

*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any rights.

Top 3 Three Days Grace Songs

I'm not sure why but recently I have delved into the musical catalogue of Three days Grace and its fucking brilliant (Excuse my language, but if you know me then you'll know thats just me). So as the band are so great and my favourite songs are from the Adam Gontier years, I will be listing my top 3 Three Days Grace Songs in the Gontier Years in ascending order:

3) "Running away"

Taken from 3DG's self titled album, this is arguably the slowest of the contents. It is about a difficult relationship and the struggles of sticking around and keeping a partner. It has an acoustic factor but it manages to retain Gontier's violent vocals without interfering with the sweeter and deep sentiment. That is one of the things I love so much about the Gontier years of 3DG. Therefore, it is my first entry on this list of great songs.

2) "Gone forever"

Once again, the second pick is also a more acoustic like song of a break-up. I think Adam may have had difficulty in his relationships...Anyway, this is a more positive take on being left alone. It is unclear as to whether Gontier is telling us that he feels better, or telling himself. His soaring and raw vocals are still prominent on this track and his voice seems to climb higher and higher. It is is very impressive in terms of range in style and vocals, accompanied by an awesome musical backing too of course. Thus, this is the runner up.

1) "Animal I have become" 

My winner was a toss up between this and "I hate everything about you" but currently I had to choose this as the champion since it as the song that led me to 3DG. I remembered it from Smackdown Vs Raw when i was young and listened to it in the gym on day on a 3DG station and the biggest weights felt particularly inferior to me one that day. The song is a pump up and destroy song with a climax and several build ups. I know my Uni training partner, Jakey, was also a fan as he also used to listen to "Riot" of heavy deadlift sessions. Thus this is the winner and deservedly so.

I hope you enjoyed my countdown and i hope you agreed. Take care!!

*I do not claim to own any images; all images sourced from google